Chapter Seven:
Remembering Roots
It started innocently. A dinner to say sorry. Sounds innocent, right?
Nick and Lydia had a nice time at the restaurant, she ordered chicken and he had a steak.
It really was innocent, until he asked her over to his house. "Just for a drink, it's still early," Nick urged.
How could she resist? Those beautiful brown eyes, that firm body and that boyish charm. It made her weak in the knees. "Sure," Lydia smiled and grabbed her black pea coat and folded it over her arm. She followed Nick out, the humid air flooding inside and hitting them hard. She wondered why she brought her coat with her as she climbed into his car.
She talked the whole way to his house. He just smiled and listened. Laughing occasionally.
When they got inside she sat on his couch while he poured two glasses of wine. She looked around. It looked like the house of a scientist who couldn't forget his past. Books about forensics everywhere. The only thing there was more of was pictures of what she assumed to be his family. She picked up one that was sitting on the end table next to her. It was of a younger Nick and what appeared to be Norah as a kid with another little girl in the picture.
Nick looked relatively the same, but Norah looked very different. She looked to be about ten-years-old. She saw no traces of the physical features of which Norah was practically famous for at the casino but was cute just the same. Her chest was flat and the blue dress she wore clung tightly to her tiny body until it got to the middle of her stomach and fluffed out into a puffy skirt with a bow separating the upper and lower parts of the dress. Her hair was long and black and she had bangs that went just below her eyebrows. She gave a big gapped-tooth smile. The thing that gave her away was her green eyes. They were just as bright as currently.
Nick noticed the picture in her hand and smiled, "It's from her eleventh birthday. She was so excited that I had come home from college. I missed her birthday the year before." He smiled at the memory. "That's her sister."
"She has a sister?"
"Well, step-sister."
"Oh?" She was genuinely interested.
"Yeah. Bethany. She was five years younger than Norah. Her mom had gotten married. Norah hated the guy. His name was Gene." He paused to take a sip of his wine. "They had two kids. Their other daughter's name is Mandy. She's 16. All three had the best time as kids. Norah loved Bethany so much."
"Loved?"
He nodded, looking down. "She died when she only eight. And after that Gene split and left her mom with Mandy. Believe me, she never trusted anyone ever again."
"How'd Bethany die?" Lydia's eyes full of sympathy.
"Leukemia." Nick said. "Everything changed after that. Norah got depressed and mad and went through counseling. Mandy felt totally left out by Norah. She was thirteen, Mandy was only six and she didn't understand it until years after. Mandy and Norah aren't close now. They don't hate each other but they barely talk anymore."
Lydia nodded. "What about Norah's real dad?"'
"She never knew him. Never met him." He left it simply at that.
They talked and drank more and eventually both ended up with quite a buzz. Nick had a hard time talking; his speech a bit slurred. Lydia felt like she was going to fall asleep. That was until he almost jumped on top of her. Smothering her with kisses. She kissed back. She was fine with it. She actually enjoyed it until he reached for the top of her skirt to unbutton and slide it off. She lifted her legs trying to get him to stop. "Please don't." She wondered if this was this seemingly innocent guy's original intent on taking her home.
He pulled off her. "What is it?"
"This isn't right."
"Why not?"
"I don't want to have sex."
He wondered what was wrong. Did his breath stink?
"I'm a virgin," she told him without a trace of shame in her voice.
"That's okay. I'll go slow, I promise." He pulled her closer to kiss her again.
"I think you're missing the point."
He squinted at her bit.
"I'm also very Christian if it helps explain any." She held her head high.
"And.?"
She wondered how bluntly she needed to say it. She didn't want to offend him. "I believe it's a sin to have pre-material sex."
His head started to ache. "Fine. I'm sorry."
They sat in silence for a bit.
"I better go." Lydia rose and quickly left out the front door. She walked the mile home in her heels.
-------
The next day at work Lydia couldn't talk to Norah without her eyes filling with tears. She was so sensitive and she felt so bad for her. Lydia never lost someone all that close to her. Not a sister.
Finally at the end of the day Norah confronted Lydia. "What am I doing? Why are you ignoring me?"
Lydia's tears brimmed over the edge of her eyelid.
Norah wondered if she'd been too harsh. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be mean, I just want to know why you haven't talk to me all day."
"Nick told me."
Norah's eyes squinted. "Huh?"
"About your sister."
"He did?"
She nodded.
"Why?" Norah asked her. She really didn't want this to happen. She spent her whole life trying not to let her secrets out. She didn't like reliving the past. But here Nick was blabbing them all over.
"I saw a picture of her." Lydia wiped her eyes on a napkin from the bar with 'CHIPS' printed in blue lettering across it.
Norah nodded and headed outside and home. Is it possible to lose someone who you love more than the world? Someone who lives five minutes away walking. Someone who you thought you could trust.
-------
Months past, New Year's, Valentine's day, St. Patrick's day, Easter. Norah didn't see anyone but Greg and Lydia in this time.
Norah settled in. In addition to getting her red Jetta, she got everything on her mental list of things to buy for her apartment plus silverware and a stock of toilet paper that should last another 4 months. She was happy with her Vegas apartment, but it felt empty. She felt empty.
She missed Nick. She loved being around Greg but it wasn't like Nick. She wished she didn't have to choose, but felt she had to.
She woke up one May morning and decided she was going to have a bonding day with Nick. As cheesy as it sounded she thought it might actually work. He agreed to it and they met at a park Nick knew of.
Even though they lived so close together both thought they might lose each other. Nick was more concerned because he was the only family she had that she actually talked to. His major goal for the day was to convince her to call her mom or at least her grandmother.
They walked round in the park for a bit. They talked about what they had been doing. Nick talked about the seemingly never-ending case he was working on and about how it was like a magnet to the press with the famous baseball player's career on the line. She talked about working at the casino and how she was thinking about going back to college to become a teacher.
The bonding day was actually a success. At the end of the day they decided they'd keep in better touch. And go out for some meal at some restaurant at least once a week. And in the end Nick had achieved his goal. She promised to call home when she got back to her apartment.
Then the tragedy came. Norah asked how things were going with Lydia.
Nick winced at the vivid memories that swiftly flooded his head. They hadn't seen each other since that grim night so long ago. He wondered if Norah had kept in much touch with Lydia herself, since she obviously didn't know what happened. "It's not going well," he looked down.
"Do you want me to talk to her?"
He shook his head.
"I'm going to talk to her," she told him firmly.
"Do what you want. It won't help." He almost blushed with the embarrassment of the remembrance of his drunkenness.
She shrugged and glanced down at her watch. "I have to get to work," she told him.
He nodded. "See you Thursday for lunch then?"
"You bet," she said, walking away. She was kind of happy with the day. She got into her car and drove home. She kept her promise to her favorite uncle and called Texas.
"Hello?" A female voice answered.
"Hi. Mandy?"
It started innocently. A dinner to say sorry. Sounds innocent, right?
Nick and Lydia had a nice time at the restaurant, she ordered chicken and he had a steak.
It really was innocent, until he asked her over to his house. "Just for a drink, it's still early," Nick urged.
How could she resist? Those beautiful brown eyes, that firm body and that boyish charm. It made her weak in the knees. "Sure," Lydia smiled and grabbed her black pea coat and folded it over her arm. She followed Nick out, the humid air flooding inside and hitting them hard. She wondered why she brought her coat with her as she climbed into his car.
She talked the whole way to his house. He just smiled and listened. Laughing occasionally.
When they got inside she sat on his couch while he poured two glasses of wine. She looked around. It looked like the house of a scientist who couldn't forget his past. Books about forensics everywhere. The only thing there was more of was pictures of what she assumed to be his family. She picked up one that was sitting on the end table next to her. It was of a younger Nick and what appeared to be Norah as a kid with another little girl in the picture.
Nick looked relatively the same, but Norah looked very different. She looked to be about ten-years-old. She saw no traces of the physical features of which Norah was practically famous for at the casino but was cute just the same. Her chest was flat and the blue dress she wore clung tightly to her tiny body until it got to the middle of her stomach and fluffed out into a puffy skirt with a bow separating the upper and lower parts of the dress. Her hair was long and black and she had bangs that went just below her eyebrows. She gave a big gapped-tooth smile. The thing that gave her away was her green eyes. They were just as bright as currently.
Nick noticed the picture in her hand and smiled, "It's from her eleventh birthday. She was so excited that I had come home from college. I missed her birthday the year before." He smiled at the memory. "That's her sister."
"She has a sister?"
"Well, step-sister."
"Oh?" She was genuinely interested.
"Yeah. Bethany. She was five years younger than Norah. Her mom had gotten married. Norah hated the guy. His name was Gene." He paused to take a sip of his wine. "They had two kids. Their other daughter's name is Mandy. She's 16. All three had the best time as kids. Norah loved Bethany so much."
"Loved?"
He nodded, looking down. "She died when she only eight. And after that Gene split and left her mom with Mandy. Believe me, she never trusted anyone ever again."
"How'd Bethany die?" Lydia's eyes full of sympathy.
"Leukemia." Nick said. "Everything changed after that. Norah got depressed and mad and went through counseling. Mandy felt totally left out by Norah. She was thirteen, Mandy was only six and she didn't understand it until years after. Mandy and Norah aren't close now. They don't hate each other but they barely talk anymore."
Lydia nodded. "What about Norah's real dad?"'
"She never knew him. Never met him." He left it simply at that.
They talked and drank more and eventually both ended up with quite a buzz. Nick had a hard time talking; his speech a bit slurred. Lydia felt like she was going to fall asleep. That was until he almost jumped on top of her. Smothering her with kisses. She kissed back. She was fine with it. She actually enjoyed it until he reached for the top of her skirt to unbutton and slide it off. She lifted her legs trying to get him to stop. "Please don't." She wondered if this was this seemingly innocent guy's original intent on taking her home.
He pulled off her. "What is it?"
"This isn't right."
"Why not?"
"I don't want to have sex."
He wondered what was wrong. Did his breath stink?
"I'm a virgin," she told him without a trace of shame in her voice.
"That's okay. I'll go slow, I promise." He pulled her closer to kiss her again.
"I think you're missing the point."
He squinted at her bit.
"I'm also very Christian if it helps explain any." She held her head high.
"And.?"
She wondered how bluntly she needed to say it. She didn't want to offend him. "I believe it's a sin to have pre-material sex."
His head started to ache. "Fine. I'm sorry."
They sat in silence for a bit.
"I better go." Lydia rose and quickly left out the front door. She walked the mile home in her heels.
-------
The next day at work Lydia couldn't talk to Norah without her eyes filling with tears. She was so sensitive and she felt so bad for her. Lydia never lost someone all that close to her. Not a sister.
Finally at the end of the day Norah confronted Lydia. "What am I doing? Why are you ignoring me?"
Lydia's tears brimmed over the edge of her eyelid.
Norah wondered if she'd been too harsh. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be mean, I just want to know why you haven't talk to me all day."
"Nick told me."
Norah's eyes squinted. "Huh?"
"About your sister."
"He did?"
She nodded.
"Why?" Norah asked her. She really didn't want this to happen. She spent her whole life trying not to let her secrets out. She didn't like reliving the past. But here Nick was blabbing them all over.
"I saw a picture of her." Lydia wiped her eyes on a napkin from the bar with 'CHIPS' printed in blue lettering across it.
Norah nodded and headed outside and home. Is it possible to lose someone who you love more than the world? Someone who lives five minutes away walking. Someone who you thought you could trust.
-------
Months past, New Year's, Valentine's day, St. Patrick's day, Easter. Norah didn't see anyone but Greg and Lydia in this time.
Norah settled in. In addition to getting her red Jetta, she got everything on her mental list of things to buy for her apartment plus silverware and a stock of toilet paper that should last another 4 months. She was happy with her Vegas apartment, but it felt empty. She felt empty.
She missed Nick. She loved being around Greg but it wasn't like Nick. She wished she didn't have to choose, but felt she had to.
She woke up one May morning and decided she was going to have a bonding day with Nick. As cheesy as it sounded she thought it might actually work. He agreed to it and they met at a park Nick knew of.
Even though they lived so close together both thought they might lose each other. Nick was more concerned because he was the only family she had that she actually talked to. His major goal for the day was to convince her to call her mom or at least her grandmother.
They walked round in the park for a bit. They talked about what they had been doing. Nick talked about the seemingly never-ending case he was working on and about how it was like a magnet to the press with the famous baseball player's career on the line. She talked about working at the casino and how she was thinking about going back to college to become a teacher.
The bonding day was actually a success. At the end of the day they decided they'd keep in better touch. And go out for some meal at some restaurant at least once a week. And in the end Nick had achieved his goal. She promised to call home when she got back to her apartment.
Then the tragedy came. Norah asked how things were going with Lydia.
Nick winced at the vivid memories that swiftly flooded his head. They hadn't seen each other since that grim night so long ago. He wondered if Norah had kept in much touch with Lydia herself, since she obviously didn't know what happened. "It's not going well," he looked down.
"Do you want me to talk to her?"
He shook his head.
"I'm going to talk to her," she told him firmly.
"Do what you want. It won't help." He almost blushed with the embarrassment of the remembrance of his drunkenness.
She shrugged and glanced down at her watch. "I have to get to work," she told him.
He nodded. "See you Thursday for lunch then?"
"You bet," she said, walking away. She was kind of happy with the day. She got into her car and drove home. She kept her promise to her favorite uncle and called Texas.
"Hello?" A female voice answered.
"Hi. Mandy?"